On a Mission

[SoulofDarkness]

Ian's eyes were staring straight ahead of him, bright with a strange sense of urgency. "I know."

He had felt it, deep within his mind. He had seen Kazuma's form, complete with a smiling face. "I leave them to you, Brother," he'd said.

"Kazuma, wait!" Ian had replied frantically, instantly guessing what his brother was implying, "Isn't there some other way?"

"No. This is how it has to be. Goodbye..." Then his younger brother faded from his mind, never to return.

Ian couldn't accept it, but he knew he had to. It was too late... He had finally met his treasured little brother, and after a mere three months with him, had him taken away again. But this time, he knew Kazuma would not return.

[Kurorin]

Daelyn hugged Ian, crying softly.
"Why? Why now?" she shivered and shook uncontrollably.
"What about Jun?" she murmured.

[SoulofDarkness]

Ian rested a calming hand on Daelyn's shoulder, then hesitated for a moment before snaking his arm around her to hold her against him. He rested his chin on the top of her head, murmuring soothing words quietly. An idea began to slowly form in his head, working itself into logical form. Ian's brow creased as he began to make sense of it. It was worth a try.

He broke away from Daelyn gently, and gazed into her eyes. "Wait here..." he whispered. Without explaining, he launched himself further into the woods.

[Kurorin]

Daelyn nodded, not questioning his acts. She knew he was up to something but it was no use following him and getting herself in trouble, and besides, she had to stop herself from crying before she went back to the house. Katsumi would make assumptions and blame Ian, even though it was clearly not his fault and then Katsumi would start to fight with Ian and it just wouldn't go well.

Daelyn sighed, still shaking slightly. She looked around. Surely she could find something to keep her from crying. She held her hand out, forming a staff out of her force field, then twirling it around and doing moves with it.

[SoulofDarkness]

Breaking into a small clearing, Ian stopped abruptly, the sight of his dying brother evoking a sharp gasp from his lips. He shook his head lightly to clear his thoughts, before kneeling just in front of his brother and grasping his bleeding wrists in each hand. "I won't let you make this mistake, Kazuma..." But the boy was already gone.

Ian took a deep breath, stared into the pale face in front of him, and began the unthinkable. He began to draw out Kazuma's soul.

Slowly, Kazuma's pale skin bleached until no color remained; slowly his wide, listless eyes glowed yellow. The hollow's sneer twisted into an expression of pure terror; he knew he was dying. But Kazuma was no longer a part of him, no longer a part of that body. Now, he was a part of Ian.

[Kurorin]

Jun stood silently. She felt Kazuma's life die. She turned around, running back to Kazuma. It was her fault. She made him kill himself. Jun now stood at the clearing, where Kazuma's body lay and Ian stood above him.
"I'm too late... This is all my fault... I made him do this!" she went to her knees and started to cry.

[SoulofDarkness]

As Ian turned to face Jun, the process had finished. For a moment, his face was clearly that of Kazuma, and his lips curled into a momentary bright smile, before fading back to Ian's sober expression. His eyes softened when he saw Jun; he walked to her slowly and touched her shoulder, "You're not too late. You'll be able to talk to him again... Just give him time."

Turning away, he started for the house, ignoring the corpse of what had been his brother entirely.

[Kurorin]

Jun shook away her tears, not even noticing the smile.
"What do you mean, Ian?" she got up to follow him.
"B-but... he's dead though! His body is shear proof of it!" she continued.

[SoulofDarkness]

Ian continued walking without making any indication he had heard her for a moment, before beginning to speak in a low voice, "Look again... That body is an empty shell, containing nothing but the shards of his hollow's soul that were bound to it." He offered no further explanation.

In truth, most of Kazuma's hollow had entered Ian along with Kazuma; the hollow was a part of his soul, and it had proved impossible to separate the two completely. But Ian wasn't worried about that. Kazuma's hollow was simple-minded, mediocre at best, and would prove no match for his own hollow. There was also the matter of his brother's tengu, which proved to be entirely subservient, but combined, the three new entities inside his body pushed at the threads that held him together. He was at his limit. Until his body adjusted to the change, he would need to sleep... And sleep indefinitely. There was no telling how long it would take. He could feel his eyelids already begin to grow heavy as Daelyn's house appeared in his line of sight.

[Kurorin]

Ian was right. Kazuma's body looked like it was just a shell. Jun kept a strong pace behind Ian. About a few yards away, Daelyn was slashing the air. She looked back to see Ian and Jun.
“Hey... you're back... Ian, Jun.... let's just get inside...” she said with a soft voice and grabbing a hold of Ian's hand gently in hers and then looked back at Jun.
“Listen... don't cry... Kazuma will always be with you... I wish I could help you with this but all I can do is try to comfort you...” she said. Jun shook her head.
“I'm fine... maybe this is meant to be... maybe god, if he even is real, is telling me that I fell in love too fast and that it was eventually going to be worse... like if this went on... I don't think my instincts would be surpressed anymore and he would have eventually ended up dead in my own arms because of what he is and what I was....” she shook her head.
“I want to be alone for a little bit....” she said heading off toward the house.

[SoulofDarkness]

Ian gave a short nod. He squeezed Daelyn's hand softly and led her into the house, before releasing her hand to continue to his bed by himself. Upon reaching the foot of the bed, he collapsed, landing only partially on the mattress, his legs draped over the edge precariously. But it didn't matter. He was already unconscious.

In his mind, he met with his brother once more.

"Why did you do that?" Kazuma asked him in a slightly irritated tone.

"You might think otherwise, but Jun needs you right now. Don't just run away from her."

"Jun is strong. She doesn't need me here to hold her hand, I'd only hold her back."

Ian smiled, "That isn't true. She is even stronger with you by her side. Can't you see that?"

With a sigh, Kazuma shook his head lightly, but it was clear that he was giving up his struggle, "Fine."

[Kurorin]

Jun sighed as her body slightly shook from the cold. She was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts with her feet bare on top of the roof. Why did this happen to her? She wanted to vanish of the face of the Earth. But why was she even feeling this way? She was only supposed to love the Kurosaki family but that came with an addition. Daelyn's lover and his brother. Not only is she ashamed of herself, but also angry. Jun was supposed to kill off hollows for revenge of her family. But now, she is living with the enemy. Katsumi once taught her that you couldn't always judge a person on their appearance or their powers. She sigh heavily before looking up at the little stars around the moon.
"Death can be painful... even if you aren't the one dying..." she murmured to herself.

Meanwhile, Daelyn opened up the door to Ian's room for the fifteenth time, debating whether or not to fix his position on the bed to one that was more comfortable. She was a little suprised that he hadn't even woke up. She knew from experiance that he could almost wake up to anything. She silently walked in, yelling at herself for making the "right" decision. Daelyn walked up to Ian and bit her lip. Why? She asked to herself. She carefully put a flat surface under his body from her force field powers and lifted him up slightly and put him gently down in the middle of the bed before pulling the covers back. Daelyn pulled the covers over Ian's sleeping form and kissing him on the head.
"Hope you sleep well..." she said before collapsing onto the floor of his room from exuastion.

[SoulofDarkness]

Eyelids fluttered at the gentle kiss, and after a moment, opened to reveal amber eyes, now peering at the ceiling. A soft moan rasped from Ian's parted lips as he turned his head toward Daelyn's slumped figure. His head felt like lead against the pillow beneath it, and a dull throbbing had worked its way through his entire body, but he payed it no mind. Slowly, he lifted a tense arm, and turned his entire body toward the girl's form. There was something so calming, so reassuring about her presence that his lips unconsciously lifted into a warm smile. He could watch her for hours, could lose himself simply gazing at her perfect features. How could he possibly curse his fate, no matter how cruel, when it had brought her to him?

He exhaled sharply when this thought entered his mind. That was just it... He may have been given a second chance, with an angel he could never come close to deserving, but his brother had yet to be awarded his own salvation. With that thought pulsing in the foregrounds of his mind, he pushed himself from the bed, his tensed muscles groaning in protest. A sharp wave of nausea nearly overtook him when his feet touched the floor, but he rode it out, eyes closed, with a hand grasped tightly at the edge of the mattress.

After he had succeeded in steadying himself, he knelt by the unconscious girl and lifted her into his arms, tucking her gently against his chest. He was tempted to stay like this, simply holding her and gazing down at her sleeping face, listening to her soft breaths... But, he realized with an internal sigh, he did not have that luxury. Instead, he rose again on shaky legs and laid his exhausted lover on his own bed, tucking the sheet over her supine form. Then he leaned forward and mimicked her earlier actions, brushing his lips over her forehead in a soft butterfly kiss.

With one final glance in her direction, he crept from the room, closing the door quietly. A sudden urgency flooded his pace as he made his way to the roof.

"Did I keep you waiting?" A low, husky voice murmured from behind Jun, draping a thick sweatshirt over her shoulders. Without waiting for her to turn, Kazuma wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulder and leaned his face into the crook of her neck. He had a sudden, overwhelming urge to kiss her neck, to run his tongue over the soft skin... But he was painfully aware that this body was not his own. Instead, he merely closed his eyes and gave a contented hum. "Can you still recognize me?" he asked, pulling away from her after a moment. He raised his eyebrow and gave a crooked grin, an almost arrogant gleam in his eyes. This was an expression he knew was distinct to him.

[Kurorin]

Jun jumped, the warm sweatshirt startling her.
“You're dead. Dead as dead can be. This is only a dream.” she shook her head as she looked at Kazuma, the crooked grin, the arrogance in his eyes, and the voice. It all but made her snap. Tear streamed down her face as her body shook.
“I really want to but... you're Ian... not Kazuma...” she shook her head again.

[SoulofDarkness]

In that moment, Kazuma pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her against his chest as fervently as if she might disappear at any moment. "You're wrong..." he whispered in a broken voice, refusing to let go. "You're wrong." He simply held her then, not trusting his voice to explain, to show her that he was real.